Darren Bent's luxury cars stolen by burglars

Aston Villa footballer, Darren Bent, has had two cars - worth a combined total of £150,000 - stolen by burglars. Bent is on loan to Brighton, and his home in Little Aston, Staffordshire, was empty when burglars broke in through a window, stole the car keys, and drove away.

The Guardian reported that police had been called at 3.15am on Saturday morning, and discovered that thieves had got into the property by breaking the locks on one window. The Daily Mail said they took the keys to Bent's Range Rover - worth around £80,000 - and his Audi RS6 - which is worth roughly the same.

Footballers targeted

He's not the first footballer to be targeted by thieves for his expensive car. In November Southampton's Victor Wanyama was burgled while he was playing Aston Villa and the thieves took his Range Rover Sport.

There has been a spate of thefts timed to coincide with when players were on the pitch - particularly when they were at away matches. In 2007 Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina was on the pitch when thieves broke into his home and stole a number of items - including his Porsche Cayenne. The car was later found burnt out.

Not all footballers have been so lucky. In 2007 Steven Gerrard was away playing football, but his wife and children were actually at home when thieves targeted his home. They broke in wearing balaclavas and took a Rolex watch and two sets of car keys.

David Beckham has also been a victim. In 2006 his £70,000 armour-plated Range Rover was stolen while he was eating lunch in a restaurant in Madrid. In a particularly bizarre twist, it was claimed a year later that after changing hands a number of times (and colour) it ended up in Macedonia. It was seized from a criminal gang there, and when nobody came forward to claim it, the government started using it as an official vehicle for the Interior Minister. She said at the time that if it could be proved to have belonged to Beckham he was welcome to have it back.

Many of these crimes have been sophisticated, and the cars may have been stolen to order. However, thieves don't always have to work quite so hard. In January last year they got their hands on Paul Scholes' grey Chevrolet estate. The Manchester United player had been defrosting the windscreen and left the car unattended on his drive - so opportunist thieves just had to get in and drive away.

Crime on AOL Money

Burglars set to take Christmas Day off - but when will they strike?

Grandaughter stole life savings: leaving grandmother penniless

Remorseful thief returns stolen charity cash